EnviroGuy goes skating on new outdoor “rink”

So I was overjoyed when a well-worn, several-hundred-yard stretch of road near my house was repaved this week. It’s so smooth now that it’s almost like skating on ice at the local rink.

More good news: a couple of other roads in my neighborhood will be repaved soon, making nearly all nearby surfaces great for in-line skating.

I’ve been doing lots of skating lately. It’s great exercise, lots of fun and it’s outdoors. It’s also relatively safe if you wear a helmet and knee, elbow and wrist guards. I’ve fallen, resulting in minor injuries, only a few times since I bought my first pair of Rollerblades in 1990 (I now have CCM skates). Only a few drivers have come close to hitting me. A UPS guy once jumped out of his truck just as I was skating past, and I wiped out after hitting him. I had a minor abrasion and he was fine.

One of my favorite places to skate is in Johnson Park in Piscataway, but I go there only occasionally on weekends. Now I really don’t have to leave my neighborhood.

Speaking of skating, where have all the Rollerbladers and skaters gone? In-line skating seemed much more popular in the 1990s than now.

It’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors and our environment, and I highly recommend it.

My skates on the new "rink"

First stretch of the new "rink"

Second stretch

Stretch No. 3

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About Todd B. Bates

Todd covers the environment and severe weather for the Asbury Park Press, which he joined on Earth Day in 1985. He's covered myriad environmental, energy, health, weather and scientific issues since 1980. He's taken graduate-level courses in environmental health, environmental risk assessment and public health. Todd, a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service, is a member of the Investigations Team. Follow him at www.Twitter/ToddBBatesAPP, www.Facebook.com/ToddBBates, http://instagram.com/toddbbatesapp, www.toddbbatesapp.tumblr.com, or Google+ https://plus.google.com/+ToddBBates/

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About the Author

Todd B. BatesTodd covers the environment and severe weather for the Asbury Park Press, which he joined on Earth Day in 1985. He's covered myriad environmental, energy, health, weather and scientific issues since 1980. He's taken graduate-level courses in environmental health, environmental risk assessment and public health. Todd, a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service, is a member of the Investigations Team. Follow him at www.Twitter/ToddBBatesAPP, www.Facebook.com/ToddBBates, http://instagram.com/toddbbatesapp, www.toddbbatesapp.tumblr.com, or Google+ https://plus.google.com/+ToddBBates/E-mail Todd